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GamerSushi Asks: What Are You…Reading?

Today is July 12, GamerSushians, and if you’ve been keeping up with the world of fantasy literature for the past six years, this is the day that George R. R. Martin’s long-awaited fifth tome in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons, hits shelves. After A Feast for Crows came out in 2005, fans have been waiting on baited breath to find out what has been happening in the world of Westeros and beyond the Narrow Sea.

I just picked up a copy of the book myself; alas, the book is only being released in hardcover right now (at least in Canada) and the cover design doesn’t match that of the preceding books, something that will surely drive me mad until I can get my hands on the paperback copy. I’m a completionist, you see.

With my TV in a less than perfect state (the lamp has either burned out or it’s a more sinister issue), this is the perfect time for me to tuck into the new, massive work of GRRM. Since I’m so enthralled with the written word, I thought I would ask you guys what you’re reading. Are you also devouring A Dance with Dragons? Got some other books that you’re reading at the moment? Anything you consider essential reading that you want to recommend? Go!

1) A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Novel as a collection of connected short stories that jump from character to character, back and forth in time, from the 70s all the way to the future. Also, one chapter is a Powerpoint presentation. Won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, so it’s fancy.

2) A Game of Thrones (audiobook version). I read this and A Clash of Kings back in 2008, and when I picked up A Storm of Swords recently to continue reading, I was completely and utterly lost. Accordingly, I decided a re-read was in order, but I chose the audiobook version to give myself something new to enjoy. So far the narrator is decent, but not my favorite audiobook narrator ever.

4) Flynn by Gregory McDonald. Mystery series starring a police inspector with a mysterious past. Remember the Fletch movies? Those were based on amazing books by McDonald, and Flynn is a character in the books.

5) Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Apparently Murakami’s most realistic and semi-autobiographical book, about a university student’s life and loves. Not too far into this yet.

6) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Mystery series set in the 1950s and starring a precocious young British girl who is “an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison”.

On hiatus from reading The Count of Monte Cristo (about a third of the way done) which, for those of you who don’t know, is longer than the entirety of The Lord of the Rings (except a little shorter if you include The Hobbit).

After my summer reading assignments, I want to read another Tom Clancy novel and then another Heinlein novel.

Im currently going through “Texas Aggie Medals of Honor: Seven Heroes of World War II ” which is a history of the seven Aggies (My School was Texas A&M) who served in WWII and details their lives and actions. Its a very amazing book for me to get to see school history and learn about an era that fascinates me.

Other than that I have Dan Brows “Lost Symbol” sitting there and I would like to read it at some point. I dont read too terribly much, which is a shame. Books can be so much better than movies but I really have to be motivated to read them

1) doing the same thing as JJ on Game of thrones, though I am reading.

2) The Caves of Steel. The first of the Robot Novels by Isaac Asimov

3) Second Foundation. The third book in the Foundation Novels by Isaac Asimov

4) Xenocide. Book 3 in the Ender books by Orson Scott Card

5) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. by Robert M. Pirsig

6) “The singularity is Near”. A look into the future course of human development by Ray Kurzweil who’s previous work, “The Age of Intelligent Machines” written in 1986, predicted the explosion of the Internet Cell phones and what would essentially end up being the kindle.

[quote comment=”17052″]On hiatus from reading The Count of Monte Cristo (about a third of the way done) which, for those of you who don’t know, is longer than the entirety of The Lord of the Rings (except a little shorter if you include The Hobbit).[/quote]

Love this book. Can’t recommend it enough. Also, it’s an amazingly quick read even though the unabridged version is a 1400 page tome.

[quote comment=”17052″]then another Heinlein novel.[/quote]

Anything in particular? I only recently got into Heinlein, but I really like what I’ve read so far.

[quote comment=”17054″]2) The Caves of Steel. The first of the Robot Novels by Isaac Asimov[/quote]

I read a lot of Asimov in high school, but I think the Robot novels are my favorites. Great combination of scifi and crime thriller.

[quote comment=”17055″]Just finished reading The Forever War and Mockingjay the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy.[/quote]

What’d you think of Mockingjay? I personally felt like Catching Fire was the best of the three and Mockingjay was a serious letdown. Katniss was such a cool character in the first two books, and then spent the third one mopey and passive.

Ugh, so many books waiting for me… I’ve just started the Night Angel trilogy and I’m really enjoying it so far. After that I have many things to choose from. A Game of Thrones for one, or The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, or anything by Iain M Banks, or the final Alex Rider book Scorpia Rising, or any number of Star Wars novels that I’ve got but haven’t read yet. Guys, I think I need help, too many books.

Jeff, I saw on fullofwords that you are/were reading Mockingjay, the third Hunger Games book. What did you think of it? After absolutely loving the first 2, I was kinda disappointed with how it finished but at the same time, I’m not sure how else it could have been done. It seemed like Suzanne Collins had sort of written herself into a corner with no way out.

[quote comment=”17057″][quote comment=”17055″]Just finished reading The Forever War and Mockingjay the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy.[/quote]

What’d you think of Mockingjay? I personally felt like Catching Fire was the best of the three and Mockingjay was a serious letdown. Katniss was such a cool character in the first two books, and then spent the third one mopey and passive.[/quote]

Catching Fire was the best, glad you agree. The 3rd one was odd. She was a figurehead instead of a leader.

I am also rereading The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. At the risk of repeating myself and being arrested by the Hyperbole Police: It’s the greatest fantasy series of ALL TIME.

A Dance with Dragons by GRRM, then the short term backlog is Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, The Dervish House by Ian McDonald, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and finally The Stranger by Albert Camus.

[quote comment=”17059″]
I am also rereading The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. At the risk of repeating myself and being arrested by the Hyperbole Police: It’s the greatest fantasy series of ALL TIME.

[quote comment=”17060″]A Dance with Dragons by GRRM, then the short term backlog is Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, The Dervish House by Ian McDonald, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and finally The Stranger by Albert Camus.[/quote]

I like the cut of your jib. Quantum Thief sounds amazing, and The Dervish House is waiting patiently for me on my Kindle. I’m hoping to read as many Hugo nominees as possible. They’re almost always a damn fine read.

@ The C4lvinist
L’Étranger by Albert Camus is a great read. I read it in English Lit. in relation to “Outsiders in Today’s Society.” Very interesting ideas presented (FTR I’m neither an absurdist nor a nihilist, but Camus is a fascinating person).

I myself haven’t had a chance the whole summer to just sit down and really get stuck in to any books. I’m only about 10 chapters in to The Grapes of Wrath which is annoying because I really REALLY want to start Game of Thrones (unfortunately I have the HBO series cover, but I’ll probably order the paperback set anyway on the assumption I like it). In addition to that, I have a book called Extreme Risk, which is about an army bomb disposal expert. What caught my eye was not The Hurt Locker inspired cover, but that the author served in Northern Ireland and, what with the IRA (well ‘dissident republicans’ but there’s literally no difference beyond their names) still trying to make everyone’s life a misery here, I really wanted to learn what inspires such bravery (or, hell, lunacy) to defuse bombs. I really enjoyed Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNabb recently so I hope this one has just as much of an impact.
Also, Y: The Last Man.

I like this twist on the “What are you *verb*?” I was looking forward to a “What are you playing?” but this is JUST as good. Can we expect other variations sometime?

At the start of the summer I had a reading list to knock out, and I’m making progress. I started out with Mogworld, the novel of the great game critic Yahtzee Croshaw, and I have to say it is by far the funniest book I’ve ever read in my life. The story is about NPC’s in an MMO, that have no idea they’re in an MMO, and the spend their days defending their evil castle from these “adventurers”, people who are obsessed with quests and the obtaining of new armor and weapons. Phenomenally written with his signature satire and wit, I would recommend it to anyone who’s played games, especially MMO’s.

I’m now on Mass Effect Revelation, the 3rd Mass Effect book. Like the others it’s written by Drew Karpshyn, who’s also the writer of the excellent Darth Bane books. I’m about 100 pages in and I’m loving it.

By the end of summer I want to have completed Gears of War Anvil Gate, because the Gears books are great, Karen Traviss is a awesome writer. And then HOPEFULLY I can finally start A Game of Thrones, since I’ve been intrigued about it ever since Eddy mentioned it sometime last year.

Aww man, great thread. More books to add to the pile I’m already happily buried under. Currently, I’m reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, though the latter will probably be set aside until after A Dance with Dragons. Planning to follow that with the last two books of Tad Williams’ Shadowmarch series.

[quote comment=”17056″][quote comment=”17052″]On hiatus from reading The Count of Monte Cristo (about a third of the way done) which, for those of you who don’t know, is longer than the entirety of The Lord of the Rings (except a little shorter if you include The Hobbit).[/quote]

Love this book. Can’t recommend it enough. Also, it’s an amazingly quick read even though the unabridged version is a 1400 page tome.

[quote comment=”17052″]then another Heinlein novel.[/quote]

Anything in particular? I only recently got into Heinlein, but I really like what I’ve read so far.

[quote comment=”17054″]2) The Caves of Steel. The first of the Robot Novels by Isaac Asimov[/quote]

I read a lot of Asimov in high school, but I think the Robot novels are my favorites. Great combination of scifi and crime thriller.[/quote]

I’m really not sure. I’ve read a good number already, but I’m just gonna go look on Amazon and choose one. Also, I highly recommend The Moon is a Harsh Mistress if you haven’t already read it.

[quote comment=”17059″][quote comment=”17057″][quote comment=”17055″]Just finished reading The Forever War and Mockingjay the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy.[/quote]

What’d you think of Mockingjay? I personally felt like Catching Fire was the best of the three and Mockingjay was a serious letdown. Katniss was such a cool character in the first two books, and then spent the third one mopey and passive.[/quote]

Catching Fire was the best, glad you agree. The 3rd one was odd. She was a figurehead instead of a leader.

I am also rereading The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. At the risk of repeating myself and being arrested by the Hyperbole Police: It’s the greatest fantasy series of ALL TIME.

Yeah. Better than Lord of the Rings.[/quote]

I did enjoy Mockingjay. Yes Katniss was a bit moppey but this is the first book where she truly understands that she is just a pawn of the capital/resitance. And she is just a figurehead in order to protect her family and others(trying to be as spoiler free as possible.) I was however super pissed/schocked when that 1 charachter gets killed near the end when that didn’t need to happen. Also should have left ending parts more open for 4th book where Katniss understands she just replaced one dictators regime for an other and has to lead the revolution. AND WHY DID RUE HAVE TO DIE!?!??!?!?

I’m currently reading Canticle, the first book of the Cleric Quintet series by R.A. Salvatore. Badass fantasy writer, you guys should check him out. I also now have a strong urge to reread Harry Potter 7 😀 and I just finished Mario Puzo’s The Godfather

[quote comment=”17091″]I’m currently reading Canticle, the first book of the Cleric Quintet series by R.A. Salvatore. Badass fantasy writer, you guys should check him out. I also now have a strong urge to reread Harry Potter 7 😀 and I just finished Mario Puzo’s The Godfather[/quote]

I read those, good stuff. Love Drizzt and Cadderly. I think I stopped reading them around The 1000 orcs.